August 29, 2018
Hello, agents, Here’s a good problem to have: you have so much business coming in you need to grow your agency and hire more support staff. We wanted to take a minute and dive into the best ways to successfully hire support staff for your agency. What Do You Need You’ve most likely started out as the first member (ie. the insurance agent) of your agency. Hiring the best staff requires determining exactly what the agency needs. The following roles are some of the most important: As you think about what roles to add first, evaluate where you could be lacking in these different areas as well as what hire will bring the most value to your agency. You may be able to handle most of the sales on your own but have trouble keeping up with invoices that need to be paid. Define Your Company Culture When you hire a new staff member to your agency how do you want them to view your business? Culture can make or break an agency. We spend a lot of time at our jobs and there’s nothing worse than employees who dread coming to work everyday. Avoid high turnover rates by setting a standard of company values, teamwork, and great communication. Company culture is something that is constantly evolving and it’s important to nurture it. When employees love where they work, they’ll give 110% of their effort. Recruiting the Right Talent One of the hardest parts of hiring is finding good talent for the interview process. Create a job posting a post it on multiple job boards as well as social media sites such as LinkedIn. Spread the word that you’re hiring through friends and family so they can help you find a candidate you can trust will get the job done. Don’t Forget to Sell Your Agency You can post your job opportunity all over the internet but if your agency doesn't look like an appealing place to work, you'll have a hard time finding quality candidates. Take some time to check out your agency's digital footprint and learn how candidates see your agency when they research the job. Be sure to keep up with review sites such as Google or Glassdoor that let others rate their experience with your agency. Need help building your brand on social media? Refer to our previous post: How to Brand yourself on Social Media Invest in Employee On-boarding Employee on-boarding is the process of training new hires of the social and performance aspects of their jobs as well as help them learn the skills and behaviors required to function effectively within your agency. The best way to keep top talent long-term is to invest time in creating a thorough employee training program. A solid on-boarding program should not only contain information about your industry, it should also contain tips for working with customers, daily life at your agency, and resources for future use. Make every employee an expert in your industry, no matter what their role in the company is. The Takeaway: Trust your instincts! Finding the right person can be difficult, but at the end of the day, these simple guidelines will help you find the person who will help to effectively grow your agency and help you to stand out in the industry. Find your next happy customer. - Contactability
Agent Ethan Kosmin Generated over $200,000 in premiums during first year in business thanks to Contact Concierge.
A look at some surprising facts and shocking statistics from the insurance lead industry.
